When Christina Michelle formed Gouge Away over a decade ago, no one and nothing was safe from the frontwoman’s fury. Back then in 2012, the band’s hometown hardcore scene in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — and by extension, the subgenre as a whole — was less welcoming and diverse than it is today. So Michelle decided to kick down the door and scream about it, whether anyone liked it or not.
“When we first started, the aim of Gouge Away was to take up space in a scene that didn’t have a lot of girls in it,” she explains. “I never felt like I belonged. We became the band for kids in South Florida who felt the same way.”
But Michelle and the band quickly proclaimed they were here to stay after their 2016 debut Dies made waves with its mad mix of metallic hardcore and punk-rock brashness. It’s 22 minutes, divided into 13 tracks, of pure, pent-up mayhem. (Check out hard-hitting opener “Bleed” if you’re skepticals.)
With sophomore follow-up Burnt Sugar (2018), a more mature and varied offering with elements of shoegaze guitar tones and indie-rock sensibilities, Gouge Away solidified their standing as one of the most exciting and unfettered acts at the forefront of post-hardcore. Michelle asserted herself as a vocalist to be reckoned with, too.
“I wish I was more resilient / Wish I didn’t harp on it / But I can’t help it,” she barks on standout “Can’t Relate” with a signature blend of viciousness and vulnerability. “I can’t take care of this mind / That won’t take care of me.”
‘Drawing more people in’
After touring Burnt Sugar extensively, writing for the band’s third album began in earnest, but then Gouge Away fell silent. Amid the pandemic and internal lineup changes, Michelle & Co. decided to take a brief break in 2020, during which she moved to Portland and eventually joined Philly shoegaze outfit Nothing as a bassist for a year. She admits to being on the fence about reforming her former Florida crew.
“When I took a break from Gouge Away, I left thinking I didn’t even like music anymore. It’s a hard world to exist and be creative in, for me, when you feel like so much of the attention on bands is negative,” Michelle says. “Sometimes it feels like people want to hate on stuff more than talk about what they love.”
Luckily, Michelle found her way back to the band that initially offered her a respite and release from the struggles of the world.
“During that time away from Gouge Away, I moved to Portland, took a bunch of mushrooms and found time to fall in love with music all over again,” she says. “I gained this new appreciation for it as magic I get to make with four of my friends.”
“It didn’t matter to me what anyone else thought about it. As long as we had fun and liked what we were doing, I was happy,” she continues. “It’s much more fun to operate from this headspace, too. And it honestly feels like the fun we’re having is more infectious and is drawing more people in.”
‘Writing from a place of love’
The lost lyrics and half-finished songs left behind during the years following Burnt Sugar were whipped into shape and molded into new record Deep Sage, released via Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish Inc. last March.
Calling it a return to form would be a disservice, as the 11 tracks contain a medley of experimental alt-rock and poignant passages penned by Michelle. More than anything, it marks a new chapter for Gouge Away — which currently includes drummer Tommy Cantwell, bassist Tyler Forsythe and guitarists Mick Ford and Dylan Downey.
“We started writing those songs in 2019, on tour and in between tours. At soundchecks we would just jam riffs and slowly pieced it together over a couple of years,” says Cantwell, who came on board in 2016 and splits his time as the drummer of hardcore supergroup Angel Du$t. “It was just sitting on a computer. We were like, ‘Fuck, these songs are really cool,’ but nobody knew what to do. Eventually, we all pieced it back together.”
For Michelle, she committed to saying exactly what she wanted to, particularly regarding more serious topics, instead of leaving her words open to interpretation.
“I always wanted to write a song about abortion, but I wanted to bring something new to the table. I didn’t want it to just be slogans,” she explains. “I wanted to give a more personal take on my feelings on it, so I was proud when ‘Idealized’ came to be. It’s the song I always wanted Gouge Away to make.”
“I never said it was an easy conversation / Just not one I need to have with you,” she sings on the down-tempo opening verse. “I have my reasons, which I'll live with / Don't need permission from you.”
She also focused more on storytelling, an approach she picked up while with Nothing, as her bandmates would regularly listen to the likes of roots music icons like Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams.
“‘Maybe Blue’ was born from that,” Michelle says. “It’s about missing home while away on tour and being afraid the distance will cause me and my loved ones to grow away from each other.”
While it’s been a long and at times strenuous journey, Gouge Away has made a home for themselves in hardcore, even if that meant fighting for space.
“I would say I started the band from a place of spite,” she says. “With Deep Sage, I completed it by writing from a place of love.”
ON THE BILL: Chat Pile with Gouge Away and Nightosphere. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, Englewood. $36-$38